Page 32 of Heart of the Shadow King

Maylin’s white teeth flash in the light of herlorststone. “Surely you’ve already realized you can do the same, have you not? It is the first and easiest trick to master.”

“No!” I shake my head, appalled. Backing away several more paces, I press against the wall. “I would never do that. I would never violate another person in that way.”

“Really?” The old woman tilts her head, looking at me from under her wrinkled brow. “Think again, little princess.”

And I do. I think of my sister, kneeling with her head in my lap. I can feel how she shakes with hunger and fear. I remember how her skin felt as I brushed my fingertips across her forehead and let a thread of calm pass from my heart to hers.

But surely that’s not the same thing! I didn’t manipulate Ilsevel, merely eased her anguish. It was only then that she could be convinced to honor her familiar obligations, to agree to a marriage she abhorred, to accept a husband she feared.

“Oh.” I let out a short breath through my lips. “I didn’t think . . .”

“You young people never do. It is the great curse of youth.” The witch sighs and lets her necklace fall back among the others. All the little lights flicker out, leaving only the glow of herlorststone. “But I can teach you. I was brought to Mythanar to hone my skills, and hone them I did. Now I will teach you.”

My head throbs, pounding with too many thoughts and ideas. There’s a cold, empty space in my core where my own feelings ought to be and aren’t.

“It’s a lot to take in, I know,” the old woman says, turning her crooked staff slowly in both hands. “I’ve waited a long time for your arrival, Faraine. But you’re here at last, and we have so little time left.”

I lift my head, look the old woman in the eye. “How could you know I would come? How could you know your son would seek among humans for his bride? How could you know he would journey to Gavaria and . . . and . . .”

The look on her face is as clear as a written confession. My words trail away as I read the truth wrought in those lines and wrinkles, those shrewd, snapping eyes. I can almost see history playing out in my mind’s eye. The little hunched and hooded witch slipping through the shadows, implanting feelings in the heads of certain key members of Vor’s court. In Vor himself. It wouldn’t take much. Even the heaviest boulder can be made to roll if the right leverage is applied.

“He chose my sister.” The words blurt from my lips, a desperate protest against the reality I now face. “He chose Ilsevel. Not me. Your plan, whatever it was, didn’t work.”

“Didn’t it?”

“He would have married her! She was killed on her Maiden’s Journey, but he would have married her instead.” A horrible thought coils in my gut. My heart jumps to my throat. “You . . . you didn’t . . . ?”

“What? Murder the girl to remove an obstacle?” Here the old woman laughs outright, a dangerous, dagger-edged sound. “No need, I’m glad to say. The gods themselves arranged that bit of fortune. They have a way of seeing to it their gifts end up where they belong. You were meant to come to Mythanar, my girl. I was merely an instrument used to guide destiny along its way.” The old woman takes another step forward, gripping her walking stick in both hands. “No one can gainsay the will of the gods. You are here. And you will be the Under Realm’s salvation, one way or another. But not until you learn your true strength.”

Every step she makes is like the approach of doom. I want to flee, but where can I go? I could still open the door and call for the guards, but something prevents me. Is it the witch, confusing my reason? Perhaps. But it doesn’t feel that way.

It feels likehope.

Hope that the pain I’ve experienced for so many years might serve an ultimate purpose.

Hope that I’m not a liability, but can truly become something more, something strong. Something powerful.

Vain wishes! Who am I fooling? These are the dreams of an ignorant child. I’ve experienced too much to be so easily taken in.

“I’m not what you think I am,” I say at last. “I used up all the power the gods gave me just to turn back the cave devils. I channeled energy from the Urzulhar Circle, and it nearly killed me.”

The old woman snorts. “Itdidkill you. Let’s not mince words. But I can teach you to protect yourself from your own power. Watch.”

She pulls back the draped folds of her sleeve, exposing her forearm. For a moment, nothing happens. Thelorstlight plays across her crepey skin, revealing each and every liver spot. Then something begins to happen. My eyes widen, and I step nearer, all caution vanishing in wonder.

Her skin transforms before my eyes. Hardening, thickening. It’s like thedorgarag, the malformation that mars Hael’s skin. Only this is not gray, dull stone. It’s crystal. Pure, shining crystal. Faceted and gleaming with inner light, covering her arm, her hand, each gnarled finger. It’s beautiful. And terrible.

Maylin lets out a gust of air like she’s been holding her breath. The crystals sink inside her, melting away to be replaced by thin, blue-veined human skin once more. But when her eyes flash to meet mine, they glow brighter than thelorststone.

“I don’t understand,” I say, gaping at her. “My powers are nothing like that.”

“Your gift is far greater and more nuanced than you’ve yet bothered to imagine. What you need is training. And practice. This little trick? It is but an outward sign of inward power. The true power lies here.” The old woman thumps a fist against her shrunken chest, rattling her necklaces. “Tell me, child, where does your heart lie?”

I’m silent for a long moment. But the truth can’t be denied. “With Vor. Always with Vor.”

“And you want to help him, do you not? You want to save him.”

“Yes.”

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